


Valentine's

by Acertainapeel



Category: The Avengers (TV 1961)
Genre: Family, Gen, Love, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:08:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29493351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acertainapeel/pseuds/Acertainapeel
Summary: A Steed family Valentine's day
Relationships: Emma Peel/John Steed
Kudos: 11





	Valentine's

Valentine’s

It was Valentine’s Day and John Steed had just returned home early from work and entered his kitchen carrying a dozen red roses for his beloved wife.

“Hello family I’m……….. What in the devil?”  
His three children were making a god awful mess in their mother’s kitchen. Flour was spilt on the floor and countertop, an open bag of sugar sat on the floor and two year old Grace was scooping some into a large bowl with her hands. Her twin brother Gabriel was sitting on a stool at the counter stirring another bowl with what looked like eggs in it, complete with shells. Three year old Jonathan was pouring a glass of milk, but more milk was going on the counter and floor than in the cup.

“SHH daddy quiet” said Grace  
“Momma seepin” said Gabriel  
“Don’t wake Momma” said Jonathan

“What in the world are you three doing?” Steed ask as he took the milk from Jonathan  
“We makin Momma” said Grace  
“A cake” said Gabriel  
“For Vantine’s Day” said Jonathan

“Where is your Momma?” ask Steed  
“She seepin” said Grace  
“She tired” said Gabriel  
“Chasin twin tomatos make her tired” said Jonathan  
“Twin tomatos?...... Oh, you mean twin tornado’s” said Steed  
“Yes. That’s it” said Jonathan

He better get control of the situation before his wife saw what was going on. If she were to see her kitchen in this state. Oh boy, he shudder to think what she would do. Screaming, would be without a doubt the first thing that would happen.

“Alright, first things first. I am going upstairs to check on your momma. Then when I come back down, we are cleaning this kitchen. I will then help you all to make her a cake. Don’t touch anything while I’m gone” he said  
A chorus of “Yes daddy” came from his children, then he proceeded upstairs to check on his wife.

He knew that she had been working awfully hard lately between Knight and home and taking care of the three children was a great deal of work. Gabriel and Grace were a handful by themselves. The twin tornado’s, you could pick something up and they followed right behind you making an even bigger mess it seemed. He would have a talk with the children, ask them to be more helpful and pick up after themselves.  
He also knew that his wife had not been feeling all that well in the last week or so. She had been pushing her breakfast around on her plate, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she hadn’t been eating in the morning. He also knew the reason why. He knew his wife very well, including her cycle, and he knew she had missed twice. She had also been quite emotional the last ten days or so. He was a bit surprised that she had not been to the doctor yet. He thought maybe she was trying to get used to the idea again. He was excited himself, but he would wait for her to tell him.  
He neared the bed and looked down at her, she looked exhausted. Why hadn’t he noticed before? He had been busy with his own work that’s why. He would start doing better, he would be more helpful. Help her with the children more, something he realized he should have been doing all along. He kissed her on the forehead and quietly left their bedroom.

He entered the kitchen and the children were trying to clean up the mess they had made, unfortunately they were spreading the mess around more.  
“Alright, you three. Sit down in the chairs over there and just watch” he said  
The children all sat in a chair and watched as their father cleaned up the mess they had made.  
“Now I can’t believe that your momma would let the three of you just run about the house while she took a nap. Were the three of you supposed to be napping also?” he asked as he cleaned  
“Yes, but soon as she fell to sleep, we sneaked out to make the cake” said Jonathan  
“Oh, I see. So, what would have happened if one of you would have gotten hurt while she was sleeping?” he asked  
“Put a bandage on it” said Grace  
“Wait till you here” said Gabriel  
“Tell you daddy” said Jonathan

“Next time, take a nap like momma says” said Steed  
“Ok daddy” said the children

The mess all cleaned up, Steed measured out all the ingredients for the cake and then let the children take turns mixing the batter. He poured it into the cake pan and into the oven it went. Next, they washed the dishes and cleaned up the remaining mess.  
They had an hour before the cake was to be done baking, so Steed and the children went to the study to relax. As he walked into the room, he decided that maybe they better do some house cleaning while they were at it. You could hardly get in the doorway, the floor was covered with toys.

“Who’s toys are these?” he asked  
“I don’t know” the children answered  
“Well, I know they are not momma’s toy’s” he said

The children all pointed fingers at one another.  
“I think that we had better get this whole house cleaned up before your momma wakes up. She would be very upset to see the house like this. From now on, I want you three to take care of your toys and things. If you get something out to play with, I want you to put it away before you get anything else out and quit being so messy. Do you all understand?” he said  
“Yes daddy” the children replied  
“Very well, now let’s get busy” said Steed

They all worked together and picked up the study and put everything away where it was supposed to go. Steed then went over to the drinks cabinet to get a brandy before he started on the next job. He grabbed up the brandy decanter and made to pour a glass when he saw something in it. He looked closely, it was a crayon. Now who in the devil would put a crayon in the brandy. He poured his drink and fished out the crayon.

“May I ask, which one of you three put the crayon in the brandy?”  
“Me daddy. I make it purdy color” said Grace smiling

Steed shook his head. How could you be angry with an angelic face like that. Especially when she looked just like her mother. He sat the crayon down and walked over to the little girl and picked her up.

“Grace sweety, you can’t change the color of brandy. Please don’t put crayons in anything anymore. Crayons are for coloring only, ok” he said  
“Yes daddy” replied Grace

He placed her back down on the floor and then retrieved the crayons, paper, safety scissors and glue. Placing them on the coffee table.  
“Ok, now. Why don’t the three of you make momma a valentine’s card while we take a break from our cleaning and I put dinner in the oven” said Steed  
“Ok Daddy” replied the children, who set to work on a card for their mother  
Steed carried his brandy and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, putting it into the oven and pulling out the cake as it was done and ready to cool.

He returned to the study and the children were finishing up their cards.  
“Daddy, how do you spell Happy Vantine’s Day?” ask Jonathan  
Steed slapped his own forehead. When he told them to make Emma a card, it never even entered his mind that they couldn’t spell. He didn’t know why he didn’t think of it. They were only two and three years old.  
“Here children I will write it for you” he said  
“No daddy” said Jonathan  
“We want to” said Grace  
“Do it” said Gabriel  
“Alright. I will write it on this paper, and you can just copy it” said Steed  
“Ok” said the children  
He wrote “Happy Valentine’s Day Momma” on the paper and then gave it to the children. They each took turns and copy it onto their cards. They did very well for their ages. When they were all done, they showed their cards to Steed. All three cards were different, and he knew Emma would love them.  
He helped the children take care of the crayons and things and then they went to work on cleaning the rest of the house. Within an hour they were all done, and the house looked wonderful. Now it was time to make the frosting for the cake.

Steed and the children assembled the ingredients for the frosting, and he got out the stand mixer. Mixer and bowl ready, they started making the frosting. When it was all mixed up and at the perfect consistency, Steed turned off the mixer and moved to lift the mixing head. About the same time Grace decided to dip her finger in the frosting and when she reached across the mixer she accidently turned the mixer on and frosting went everywhere. Steed quickly turned it off again, but it was too late. Most of the frosting that had been in the bowl, now was all over the four of them and the cupboards and the countertop and the floor. The kitchen was a mess.  
“Sorry daddy” said Grace sadly  
He placed his hand to his forehead to rub the headache that was starting to form and smeared frosting across his forehead.  
“That’s ok Grace, accidents happen. Let’s get this mess cleaned up and then we’ll try again alright” he said to the children  
“Ok daddy” they all replied  
He and the children cleaned the chocolate frosting from all the affected surfaces and then proceeded to make the frosting a second time.

When the frosting was ready this time, he unplugged the mixer before tipping up the head. He used a spoon to scoop the biggest share of the frosting from the beaters and then handed Grace and Gabriel each a beater and Jonathan the frosting covered spoon. While he frosted the cake, the children licked the beaters and spoon clean.  
The cake now done, He placed it on the counter, out of reach of the children and put the empty bowl and spatula in the sink to wash. He then turned to the children for the beaters and spoon. He shook his head and couldn’t help but laugh.  
Jonathan was the cleanest of the three, he had a ring of chocolate around his mouth and was licking his fingers. Grace had the same ring of chocolate but hers extended all the way down her chin and she was licking her fingers. Gabriel, dear Gabriel. The lad was a mess. He had a ring of chocolate around his mouth that went clear to his chin then up over his nose and almost to both ears. He had the fingers of one hand in his hair and the fingers of the other in his ear. Both hands were chocolate covered and leaving chocolate everywhere he touched. Why this boy always had to be so messy.  
He took the spoon and beaters from the children and tossed them in the sink and then helped the children down from their stools and into the bathroom off the mudroom to wash up. Many minutes later, everyone was once again clean. They returned to the kitchen and finished the dishes and putting things away. It was time to wake Momma. Dinner would be ready before long.

Steed and the children went upstairs to he and Emma’s room and climbed up onto their bed and lay down beside Emma. He reached out a hand and gently stroked her cheek as he called her name.

“Emma my dear” he said  
Her eyes fluttered open and settled on him and the children and she smiled at them.  
“Hello, my loves” she said sleepily  
“Hello momma” replied the children  
“Hello sweetheart” she said  
“Hello my dear” he replied  
“What are you doing home so early?” she asked  
“It’s not that early, it’s five o’clock” he replied  
“Oh no” she said sitting up quickly “I didn’t mean to sleep so long. I don’t have dinner started, the house is a mess. I am so sorry”  
“Emma, it’s fine. I started dinner, it’s in the oven. The children helped me pick up the house. Everything is fine” he said  
“I am such a terrible mother and a horrible wife” she cried  
“You are a wonderful mother and the perfect wife” he said taking her hand “You were tired and needed your rest. It’s fine, everything is fine”  
“Are you sure. I don’t want you to be mad because the house is a mess and dinners not ready” she said tearfully  
“My dear, I am not mad, nor shall I ever be. I know that you work hard every day and that the children are a lot of work all by themselves. I have had a talk with them and have asked them to please take care of the things they are playing with before they get something else out. I also ask them to quit being so messy. They make so much work for you and you already have enough on your plate.” He said brushing away her tears  
“Thank you, sweetheart,” she said before leaning over and kissing him  
“Now, let’s all go down to the study till dinners ready” he said

Everyone smiled and left the bed. He and Emma walked hand in hand down the steps as the children went down ahead of them.  
They sat in the study and Steed told Emma about his day at work and watched the children play on the floor. He saw Grace reach for her Valentine and look over at him and he nod his head at her. She shook Gabriel and Jonathan’s arms and told them that it was ok to do the valentines now. All three children grabbed up their valentines and moved toward Steed and Emma smiling.

“Momma” said Jonathan  
She looked at the three children and smiled. They all stood in a line with their hands behind their backs.  
“Yes” she replied  
“Happy Vantine’s Day Momma” said the Children, holding out their cards  
Emma smiled at the three of them and a tear slid down her cheek.  
“Thank you loves” she said as she accepted their valentines and gave each one of them a kiss and hug. Then she opened their cards. Each one had a picture that they had drawn and each one was perfect. She loved them all.  
“Thank you, they are wonderful. I love them” she said, hugging all three children again  
The children all smiled and then ran back over to play with their toys.  
“That was so sweet” said Emma tearfully  
“Just wait till you see what else they made for you” said Steed brushing away her tears  
He placed a tender kiss on her lips and then held her in his arms as they watched the children play.

A little while later the oven timer went off, signaling that dinner was done. The family left the study and made for the kitchen.  
The children took their seats at the table as Steed and Emma came into the kitchen hand in hand. The roses he had brought home for her, sitting upon the center of the table.  
“Steed, there’s roses………He swung her around, taking her in his arms.  
“I brought the roses home for you my dear, Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you” he said before kissing her passionately.  
When the kiss ended, she smiled at him.  
“Thank you, Sweetheart. They are beautiful. I love you too” she replied

“What does everyone want to drink?” Emma asked, pulling away from Steed with a smile  
“Lemonade” replied the children  
“Lemonade it is” she said as she walked to the ice box  
“The children have made you a chocolate cake for dessert my dear” said Steed  
“Oh, how lovely. That’s my favorite” replied Emma

She removed the picture of lemonade from the ice box and sat it on the counter, and then retrieved the cups. She reached for the picture to pour the lemonade when something fell into the picture. With brows furrowed she looked into the top of the picture, it appeared to be frosting. She looked up just in time to see a big clump of chocolate frosting fall from the ceiling and land in the lemonade picture, splashing lemonade onto the countertop and herself.

She gasp in shock, more from the cold lemonade than anything and then burst into tears.  
Steed had seen the whole nightmare unfold as he was pulling dinner out of the oven. He hurried over to her, grabbing up a towel on the way.  
She was very upset and crying uncontrollably as he tried to dry her off.

“Emma, I’m so sorry. We had a bit of trouble with the frosting and I thought I had it all cleaned up. It didn’t occur to me that there was any on the ceiling. I am so sorry.” He said

“It’s all my fault. The house was a mess. Dinner wasn’t made. You had to watch the children. I made you do it all, because I was tired, and I don’t feel good and I’m overwhelmed and now I’m pregnant” she sobbed

He gathered her in his arms and held her to him, stroking her hair and back soothingly.  
“It’s going to be alright my dear, everything is going to be alright” he said

“How can you say that? I can’t keep up with the three we have. How do I keep up with another? I am so scared Steed. Scared that I won’t be a good mother to them because I can’t keep up with them. I’m so scared. I’m not ready.” She sobbed

He held her tight to him. That’s why she hadn’t been to the doctor he realized, the doctor would make it real and definite.

“Emma, listen to me. You are a wonderful mother. I know that you can do this. You are the strongest woman I have ever known. Also, I am going to be here to help you. I realized today that I haven’t been helping you with the children as I should have. It’s time that changed. They are a lot of work and it’s too much for one person to handle all by themselves. I am stepping up and am going to start doing my share of the helping around here. They are going to have to help as well. Like I told them earlier, they have to stop being so darn messy. We can do this Emma. We can do this together. We can do it as a family.” He said

“Oh Steed, I’m just so scared” she cried

“Don’t be scared my dear. I’m here, I’m with you” he said  
He felt her nod her head against his chest as he held her. He continued to hold her, waiting for her to calm and then he felt little arms come around them. He looked down. All three children had their arms around them. Emma looked down as well.

“We be more helpful momma” said Jonathan  
“We put toys away” said Grace  
“We be no messy” said Gabriel  
“We love you momma” said the children  
“I love you three as well” said Emma

“Me want a sissy” said Grace  
“Me want a brudder” said Gabriel  
“I not picky” said Jonathan smiling  
Steed and Emma smiled at one another and then at the children.

“We won’t know what it is until it gets here” said Emma  
“Brother or sister, we will love it with all our hearts” said Steed  
“I can’t wait” said Grace  
“Me eader” said Gabriel  
“I’m excited” said Jonathan  
“Me too” said Steed smiling  
“I’m working up to it” smiled Emma  
Steed laughed and hugging her to him, placed a tender kiss to her lips.  
“Let’s Eat, I starved” said Gabriel  
Everyone laughed and set about to eat dinner.

Having three young children was a great deal of work. A person really had no idea unless they dealt with it every day. They rigors of life and a job and three young children was stressful. Then to add another life into the mix, well Steed could see why it weighed heavy on his wife. He would do his best to take some of the stress from her by helping her with the children and the house. It was the least he could do, he after all was responsible for helping create those children. Besides, he enjoyed caring for the children just as much as he enjoyed creating them. Well, almost as much.


End file.
